Luna Lovegood and the Wand of Versolas
by Marusame
Summary: Okay, a friend of mine and I decided that Luna needed her own stories. This first one is written by me, with a lot of input and help from him. It takes place during The Chamber of Secrets, Luna's first year at Hogwarts.
1. Chapter 1

The Lovegood house was underground. Only the three chimneys were visible. There were not three fireplaces. Two of the chimneys were fake, and led to a series of increasingly bizarre traps, designed, according to Artemis Lovegood, to catch the owls spying for the Ministry of Magic. If one asked him how the correct owls determined which chimney to use as an entrance, he tended to mumble.

The ground under which the house sat was not ordinary either. Instead of grass, it was covered in three leaf clovers. Three leaf because, according to Mr. Lovegood, the whole four-leaf legend was propaganda spread by the Ministry to draw attention away from the much luckier three-leaf.

In order to enter the house, one had to find the trapdoor hidden beside the only chimney that led to an actual fireplace. There was no handle on this door. Instead, to enter one had to knock three times and recite the names of all seven members of the Bompkin trio, four of which had been hidden away by the other three for being out of tune. Again, this information was courtesy of Artemis Lovegood.

Although the inhabitants of the house were asleep, it was not silent. It was not even very quiet in fact. There were no less than nine owls, four cats, seven parrots, five rats, two mice, and a very old ferret within the main room of the house. Maribelle Lovegood adored animals of all kinds, and was constantly picking up strays to give them a home.

In a very small room within this house was a small bed, which nonetheless took up most of the room, other than a tiny dresser half stuck inside the closet. On this small bed lay a small girl. Her slight form was almost completely dwarfed by a hand-stitched quilt, given to her by a loving grandmother whom she had never met.

Despite being only nine years old, there were none of the usual small girl toys within the room. No animated dolls, no toy animals. In fact, there were no toys at all. Besides the bed and dresser, the only thing in the room were four long boards, which seemed to have been nailed into the wall by either a somewhat blind carpenter, or a nine year old girl whose hammer was more than a little too heavy.

On these awkward shelves sat the girl's prized possessions… books, dozens of books of all kinds. There were history books and mythology books, books about life and books about the ocean. Some were magical, and some were not, but all appeared well taken care of, and well used.

She was called Luna, a name given to her by her mother. It seemed to be appropriate, because even as a baby, the girl rarely cried. She was very quiet, and seemed perfectly happy in a world of her own. At first the parents had thought that something could be wrong with her, because by the age of two, she hadn't spoken a word. It wasn't until her third birthday that Luna spoke, and then it was in complete sentences. She had known how to talk for some time, and merely had nothing to say.

Though the room was dark, Luna was not asleep. Instead she was watching the stars on her ceiling. Her father had bewitched it when she was a baby, so that she wouldn't feel closed in, despite the fact that there were no windows in the house.

A woman, almost ethereally beautiful stood in the doorway. Maribelle smiled down at her daughter and spoke softly. "I knew you'd be awake. Come, let's get you something to eat, so you'll sleep."

Pulling herself out from under the heavy quilt, Luna stood in front of her mother and immediately put her arms out. Maribelle chuckled quietly and leaned down, hugging the girl gently. She patted her daughter's back and felt tears appear in her eyes at the thought of the miracle that Luna was. Only nine years old, the girl was remarkably wise and accepting of things that most adults wouldn't accept. Of course, it helped that her father was possibly the most superstitious wizard in the world.

Leading her daughter into the kitchen, and shushing the half dozen parakeets inside, Maribelle swished her wand around a few times and smiled as a stack of cookies flew from the jar onto a plate, while the milk poured itself into two glasses.

Meanwhile, Luna stood in her tie-dye pajamas. They were incredibly big for her, so much so that that legs and sleeves had to be rolled up several times. As she had been unable to choose a single color or pattern, they were a general mish-mash of dozens of colors.

Romero, a boisterous bird who seemed to hate everything and everyone except for Luna, left his perch, flapped a few times and landed on her shoulder. She raised her hand and patted the bird's beak absently.

Sitting down and patting the chair next to her, Maribelle said, "Sit down, dear, and don't let Romero steal your cookies."

Moving slowly so as not to disturb the bird in question, Luna blinked at her mother. "But I don't mind sharing with him. He likes cookies."

Smiling again, Maribelle nodded. "Sharing is one thing, but you can't let him take all of it. The cookies are for you. You can share with whoever you want to, but you have to stand up for yourself sometimes." At her daughter's confused look, she went on. "Luna, what I mean is… you don't have to give people something that belongs to you if you don't want to."

Pausing with a cookie half-way to her mouth, Luna looked to her mother. "This isn't about cookies, is it?"

Shaking her head, Maribelle set her glass down. "No… no it isn't. Daddy told me what happened with Stuart." She gazed at the young girl intently, waiting for her reaction. She didn't have to wait long. Her daughter blushed crimson and ducked her head so that her straggly blonde hair covered her features. She mumbled.

"It's no big deal. He just wanted to borrow my remembrall." Artemis had given his daughter the globe, used to remind the owner when they had forgotten something, to cope with the fact that she was forever leaving her books lying around.

"Luna, taking without permission isn't borrowing. I know you don't like tattling, but some things your daddy and I need to know about. What Stuart did was wrong. It's okay to tell us. He stole something that your daddy gave you. We'll talk to his parents tomorrow."

At that, Luna shook her head quickly. "You don't have to do that. I'll talk to him. He'll give it back." She shrugged, and the oversized pajama shirt slipped partway off one shoulder. "They always give my stuff back."

Frowning, Maribelle asked, "Who always gives your stuff back?"

Realizing she'd said too much, Luna quickly took a bite of her cookie. Pointing at the wand in her mothers pocket, she tried to speak with a mouthful, grimaced, then swallowed and tried again. "Why do you have two wands?"

Glancing at the wand, Maribelle answered. "This one is from a spell I'm working on, but don't try to change the subject. Who's been taking your stuff?"

"No one… " At her mothers look, Luna thought for a moment before speaking again. "I'll tell you if you tell me what you've been working on." She was always curious about her mothers work, knowing that she was a very talented witch. So talented in fact, that she helped create new spells.

Considering that, Maribelle finally nodded. "Okay, I'll show you what I've been doing, if you promise to tell me what happened to your things, and who has been taking them. Deal?" When Luna nodded, she stood and picked up her wand.

"I've been working on a spell to reverse the effects of the last spell cast on a person or object. Not just a counterspell, but a spell that will work to turn back what any spell has done, not just one spell in particular. At least, that's what I'm trying to make it do. Something's wrong though."

Leaning forward eagerly and letting her feet swing under the table, Luna asked, "Can I see?" Her eyes lit up and she peered at her mother pleadingly. "Please?"

Looking doubtful until she saw the look in her daughter's eyes, Maribelle finally relented. "Okay, I'll show it to you, but you have to stand back… okay?" Luna nodded and scooted her chair back.

Looking around, her mother's eyes settled on a purple apple, which gave off musical tones whenever it was touched. "Okay, your father brought that home from the paper. He's convinced that it's Papalan fruit. I think it's just an apple that someone bewitched to play a joke on him. Let's see." She raised the wand and frowned, as it seemed to vibrate slightly. "Luna dear… I'm not sure this is a good idea."

Luna nodded quickly. "It'll be okay. I just want to see your spell. Please?"

Unable to resist her daughter for long, Maribelle relented and flicked the wand once. Her clear voice rang out almost musically, "Versolas."

Both females looked eagerly towards the apple, but nothing happened. Maribelle frowned and tried again. This time there was a loud bang. Without another word, the woman fell to the floor. She landed hard on the wand, and there was a crack as it snapped.

At first, Luna thought that her mother was playing a joke on her. She slid off of her chair and knelt beside the motionless figure. "Mom…. Mother? Are you okay? What happened?"

She finally saw the sightless eyes staring up at her from within her mother's cold body, and it was then she began screaming.

She screamed louder than she ever had before, so loudly that her father had to shout to be heard, while he shook her.

"LUNA! Wake up. You were dreaming again."

Pulling herself into a tighter ball, Luna blinked the sleep out of her eyes. It was two years since that night. She was eleven now, and about to go to Hogwarts for the first time. She had received the acceptance letter by owl the week before.

Looking up at her father, who had only grown more superstitious since his wife's death, she tried to smile. He failed to notice her shaking and asked, "Was it the Bogsnallers again? Did they try to eat your dreams?"

Pausing before answering, Luna thought about how much Maribelle's death had hurt her father. The Quibbler was his life now, and he poured his heart and soul into it. She hadn't understood this at first, and had resented the fact that he seemed to prefer his work to his daughter. She forgave him though, and didn't want to hurt him further by saying what had really caused her nightmares. As far as he knew, she had come into the kitchen and found her mother that way. No one knew that Luna had watched her mother die, and had in fact been, in her mind, responsible for it.

So instead of telling the truth, she just nodded. "Yes, but it's okay now. They're gone."

Smiling in relief, Artemis ruffled his daughter's hair. "Well then, you get some more sleep and we'll talk in the morning. Okay?" She nodded and he walked from the room, leaving the door open a crack.

Once he had left, Luna closed the door the rest of the way and hid under her quilt. The small bed shook slightly from her tears.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Dawn came and went, and as she had every day for the past two years, Luna greeted the sun with the same response. "Hullo, you. I know it's lonely, but keep burning, okay?" She couldn't quite explain why she felt the need to reassure the bright orb in the sky, but it made her feel better.

Giving one last smile to the sky in her bedroom ceiling, she bounced from her bed and opened the door into the hall. Staring her in the face was an extremely irate looking garden gnome, sitting in a cage suspended from the ceiling. She waved absently. "Hullo, Ivan."

Artemis Lovegood was convinced that garden gnomes knew powerful, secret magic. He had been looking for one to question for a long time before one literally landed on his head as he walked home past the Weasley house, only a few weeks before. Personally, Luna thought the gnome should be let go, but her father insisted that as long as they fed him, it would be okay.

Patting the gnome on the nose and withdrawing her finger before he could bite her, Luna wandered through the cluttered hallway and into the kitchen.

As she entered the room, she was greeted by a chorus of howls, squeaks, hisses, and yowling from the assortment of animals inside. Her father sat at the table, scribbling furiously on a scrap of parchment, muttering. "I've got them this time… they can't deny… Oh, good morning, dear."

Greeting her father with a smile and wave, Luna looked at him for a moment before speaking. "You've got your work coat on."

It was true, Arti Lovegood glanced down at his favorite coat, one with dozens of pockets, all filled with an assortment of quills and parchments. Looking back up at his daughter, who was staring at him intently, he blinked. "Why… yes… I'll be going into the office early today. You should have plenty to eat in the—"

Luna cut him off. "We're supposed to go to Diagon alley today, to pick up my school things, and then you're dropping me off at the train station. I'm going to Hogwarts today, remember?"

There was a blank look from her father for a moment, and then he looked utterly surprised. Luna managed to keep the crestfallen look from her face. He really had forgotten. The day she was leaving for the whole year and he had forgotten about it.

"Oh… dear me… I'm sorry, Luna. It's just that there's this secret meeting of the Gonzorbal clan leaders, and I'm certain that I know where it's being held this time. I'd take you… but if I don't make it to the meeting in time, I'll miss the…" He trailed off as his daughter shrugged her thin shoulders.

"It's okay, I can do it by myself." Luna forced the disappointed tone from her voice and managed to sound slightly bored. "We can just say good-bye here, and I'll see you at Christmas break, right?"

Now Artemis looked doubly pained. He shook his head. "I'm taking that trip to Iceland this Christmas, remember?"

He had been planning the trip for months now, but Luna had forgotten about it. She sat at the table where a small rhesus monkey named Paka was eating grapes. Taking the offered grape when he held it out to her, she popped it in her mouth and swallowed before responding to her father. "Good luck with that. Spring Break then?"

Artemis nodded quickly, looking both pained and relieved that she was taking it so well. "Of course. Yes, I will see you at spring break." He beamed at her. "You'll do wonderfully, Luna. You'll be the best in your class, just like your mother. You have your stuff packed then."

Now Luna's voice acquired a dream-like quality that she had managed to cultivate when hiding the way she felt about anything. It was much easier to hide your feelings by sounding rather bored with the subject. It worked with her father anyway, and he merely nodded when she said, "Oh yes… I have everything I need except for what I need to buy in Diagon alley."

Satisfied, Artemis held out a pouch of galleons. "Here's your school money then, and you know how to use the flu powder?"

Rising and picking up the box of powder from the fireplace mantle, Luna answered. "Of course. I've used it before, you know… whenever you—"

Folding his paper under his arm, her father nodded. He already looked distracted. "Yes, yes… I'm quite certain you'll be fine." Absently, he leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. "Good luck, dear. I'm off now, be sure to send lots of letters."

"Yes, I—" He was gone, out the trap door before she could finish. "—will." Looking down at Paka, who offered her another grape, Luna smiled. She always smiled when her father acted that way. It was just the way he was. He got so distracted by his work. It used to frustrate her, but now she understood. It wasn't that he didn't love her, just that he could get slightly nuts about his job. He was slightly nuts period, but she still loved him.

Finishing off her breakfast of grapes and wishing herself good luck, Luna dressed in a pair of violet pants and a bright red shirt, said good-bye to all of the animals and stepped to the fireplace with her trunk. Opening the box of powder, she tossed some inside and said, "Diagon Alley!"

It was hours later, as she sat on a bench outside Olivander's wand shop, looking at the wand she'd received. It wasn't very long, only eight inches, and was remarkably thin. The wand was made of rosewood, with a hair from a hippogriff as a core. Looking at it, Luna decided that she rather liked the wand. It looked unassuming and innocent, but there seemed to be more to it than she could see.

Looking around for a place to store the wand, she finally tucked it behind her ear and opened her trunk. Inside were the books that she had just bought, and a small package. It was this that she took out. Glancing around carefully, she cracked the small box and peered inside. There was a wand there, split neatly in the middle. It was the wand that had killed her mother. Luna had hidden it from her father, afraid that he would try to use it. Not knowing the safe way to dispose of such an obviously dangerous item, she had merely kept it hidden for the past two years. Now she hoped to show the wand to one of the teachers at Hogwarts. They would know what to do with it.

"What do we have here then?" The sudden voice surprised the eleven-year old girl, and she quickly closed the small box before looking up. An older boy stood there, looking down at her with a slightly mocking look on his fine features. His white-blonde hair was combed smartly back, and every inch of him seemed to proclaim his wealth and status to all who were in his presence. He was, of course, a Malfoy. She thought his name was Draken, Darko, Drake, Draco… that was it. His name was Draco. He was a year or so older than she was, so Luna couldn't understand why he would choose to talk to her.

She looked around carefully before responding, making certain that it was indeed her that the pampered boy was speaking to. Finally, just as the look on Draco's face turned to one of sheer impatience, she spoke. "What you have here is Luna Lovegood, me. You're Draco Malfoy." She finally remembered where she'd heard his name. Her father had written an article the previous year about Lucious Malfoy, Draco's father. The boy himself had been mentioned as being near the top of his class, a source of great pride for his father. Of course, Artemis had quickly turned the interview around to the subject of Flockfooted Amperdanes.

He swelled up proudly. "Yes… Lovegood. Your father writes that dirty old rubbish paper, doesn't he?"

Luna could feel her anger rise as it always did when someone insulted her father's work. Instead of appearing upset however, she merely looked at Draco appraisingly for a moment. "I'm sorry, but I didn't insult your father. Please don't insult mine. If I wanted to insult yours, for example, I would say that he spends so much time preening for the camera that it's little wonder that he's infested by Snortbrallers." She paused, and met Draco's furious gaze. "I didn't say that however, so kindly leave off mentioning my father."

For a moment, Luna thought that Draco was going to hit her. His fist balled up and he looked mad enough to clobber her right there in the middle of the street. Peering at him, she added, "Actually, you kind of look like a Snortbraller yourself, the Queen of course, she's the only one big enough. The others are much too small to be you. Are you sure you're not a Snortbraller Queen?"

Draco's eyes bulged, and he started to lunge at her. Just a Luna started to yelp, a hand fell on the boy's shoulder. Draco spun around and met the gaze of two boys. They were twins, with red hair and an assortment of freckles. Fred and George Weasely. They lived near her, but she'd never spoken to them.

Fred and George both looked at Draco and smiled. The one holding his shoulder let him go and stepped back. "Right then, George. Who does this git remind you of?"

George seemed to ponder this for a moment before snapping his fingers. "I've got it, he looks like a Mandrake with a wig."

Draco's eyes narrowed, and he seemed to have forgotten about Luna. "What's the matter, Weasley's? Your fat old mother scrape together a few more sickles for a broom that isn't a decade old? You were here before… with Potter."

Fred chuckled softly and nodded, nonplussed. "That's right, or something like that. We're actually here to pick up our herbology books. Seems that something happened in Flourish and Blotts before that might have distracted our dear old mum."

"Yeah." George added. "So we came back to get them. What's your excuse, did your father sneeze so you've got to buy him a gold-laced handkerchief?"

Instead of answering, Draco stalked away, muttering darkly to himself. Still chuckling softly, Fred looked at Luna. "Hullo there."

After making sure that her trunk was safely closed, she answered. "Hello. You're Fred and George Weasley. My father was hit by a gnome near your house the other day. We named him Ivan. My father says that he's going to tell us the secret spell needed to find the invisible doorway into the place where the Ministry is hiding their _Crumple-Horned Snorkack's." _

_Luna didn't know why she was rambling like this. It was just something she did a lot. She couldn't help it, and she knew from the looks on Fred and George's faces that they were confused. Instead of laughing at her however, they finally just shrugged at each other. "Do you mind if we sit down?" _

Looking at the seats next to her, Luna finally nodded. "I don't think anyone's there, but you might want to be careful. There could be an invisible tralleywag just waiting for you to sit on it. They love that, you know. It's why they're forever climbing onto chairs and just waiting for people to sit on them. Since they like it, I suppose it would be okay if you did sit on one, but you might not like it much, as their spines are not more sharp than ticklish."

"Sure." Fred answered easily, pausing to look at his chair before sitting down. George went so far as to pat the seat first. Finally, after both boys had sat, George held out a bottle to her. "Butterbeer? Our mother sent us with enough money for the books, but we just found some cheaper ones and bought a treat with what was left over. This one's extra, you can have it."

Accepting the offered drink with something akin to amazement, Luna stared at the bottle for a long moment as Fred spoke. "You're a first year, right?"

"Yes. My father's busy at work, so I came here by myself." Luna couldn't keep a note of pride from her voice. "I found everything I need, I think…" She paused, and then asked, "Do you know which of the teachers at the school are good with… wands?"

To this, the twins seemed to think for a moment. Finally, Fred answered. "Well, I'd say that would be Professor Flitwick."

George nodded. "Definitely. Why, is there something wrong with yours?" He glanced at Ollivander's, which was right behind them.

Luna shook her head quickly. "No, I just… I was just curious."

The twins let it go at that, to her relief. Finally, she remembered the butterbeer in her hand and took a long drink from it. The fizzy feeling made her slightly giddy, and she giggled, much to the amusement of the boys.

Raising his own butterbeer in a toast, Fred said, "Well, good luck to you…." He trailed off, looking at the girl questioningly.

"Luna." She spoke, realizing what he was waiting for. "Luna Lovegood."

Fred smiled then. "Good luck to you, Luna Lovegood. George and I have to be off, don't want to be late for home. Mum would kill us if we miss the trip to King's Crossing. You'll be there then?" Luna nodded and he looked around. "Now where is that trash?" His hand held the empty bottle, and George also began looking for a place to throw his own.

Eyes wide, Luna held out her hands after setting her own bottle down. "I'll take them. I… I'm going that way."

Looking slightly surprised again, Fred and George nonetheless handed over their bottles and stood. "Thanks, and we'll see you then." She waved, and they walked away.

Looking at the bottles, Luna thought quickly. The bottles themselves were too big to carry around, but there was no way she wasn't keeping part of them. This butterbeer was the first gift someone outside of her own family had ever given her, and she thought it was lucky. Having the twin's as well had to make it even luckier. Finally she took the caps from each bottle and put them in her pocket. She'd decide what to do with them later.

Realizing by looking at the sky how late it was, she hopped to her feet and began dragging her trunk after her. She had to get to King's Crossing soon, or she'd miss the train.


End file.
